


QAF 15th Anniversary Dedications by Fan Forum Members ~ December 3, 2000: The beginning of the greatest love story ever told

by kellankyle



Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-03
Updated: 2015-12-04
Packaged: 2018-05-04 13:35:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5335982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kellankyle/pseuds/kellankyle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As everyone knows, Queer As Folk is celebrating 15 years since the premiere of the series. Because of this, the QAF board on Fan Forum made a special celebration thread with graphics, personal memories and fanvids to commemorate this special event.</p><p>Here are some of the thoughts from our beautiful fangirls and boys on our board.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Daggi

**Author's Note:**

> http://www.fanforum.com/f87/

Starting to watch a show over a year ago and learning that it already has its 15th anniversary this year is impressive. I never saw a show so up to date with the topics and so alive after such a long time than "Queer as Folk". Falling in love with the characters was easy and fans still keep them alive and up to date in fanfictions and art. That's what keeps them alive as a series too.

I soon got addicted to it and the best thing that happened was to meet all those kind and nice people here in this forum, who inspire each other with celebrations and ideas, and love to share their fangirl/boy lives with each other!!


	2. Irina

When Queer as folk first started to air, I was young, and it was released in France only a few years after the USA released date. 

Queer as folk taught me a lot. Watching queer as folk while being young helped me to be who and what I am today. I learnt what love, acceptance, and family are. I learnt to be myself , to not be afraid to stand up for what I think is right.

That's why I will always be thankful to Russel T Davis for having created this wonderful show and then to Ron and Dan for developping the serie we all love. Thank you to the cast for bringing to life those characters that means so much to me.

Now, fifteen years later; being older and more mature, with all the evolutions we witnessed in our society and, after watching again all the serie, I needed to find a place to talk about my love for the show. I found this place, FF, with wonderful people. After all these years, Queer as Folk still brings lots of love in my life.

This show will always have a special place in my heart and I will cherish it forever.


	3. Denise

Queer As Folk. My heart, my soul, my spirit. Over four years ago when I first discovered the show, watching it was the only thing I would look forward to each day. The only thing that was really worth getting excited for. And to this day, I still remember being so enthralled with it that I would stay up until 4 in the morning viewing Brian and Justin clips from the show on Youtube, then later watching the show in all its entirety, getting familiarized with the rest of the beloved characters. To say it was one of the strongest bouts of euphoria I have ever felt in my entire life would be a total understatement. It was simply magical, and no other show, nor script, nor plot has ever had the SAME effect on my emotions. Of course, even these days, I am still very taken by its beauty, charm, and its message of tolerance equality concerning all walks of life. Not to mention, I am still waiting to be swept off my feet by another show in such a profound way as QAF did with me. It has yet to happen, and I am glad, because no other sitcom can really hold a candle to the way QAF changed my life. Queer As Folk has changed ALL our lives in some way, and still continues to affect us 15 years on.


	4. Chris

I'll always remember QAF as the show that helped bring new friends into my life. Without it, I wouldn't have met 3 amazing people who've become my very good friends. It was a revolutionary show that I'm sure has changed many people's lives as it did mine. I'll always be a fan of the show.


	5. Deborah

What can I say? I am still so in love with Queer As Folk. This show has had a constant presence in my life for almost 3 years, but I feel like its been here all of my life. 

I came to QAF and Fan Forum when I was having a very dark period in my life. In it, I found peace and friendship with others, which I never expected. I thought I was only coming to discuss a show that I found merely by accident, but found myself not only discussing episodes but following the beloved QAF actors careers after the show had ended. I had no idea how widespread the love for QAF was and I found a whole world full of people who were as in love with it as well. I am proud to call them my friends and chosen family today.

Everyone talked about how QAF was so ahead of its time. It was like no other show on television. _It's true._ What is also true, is that I don't think anyone thought that this year, 15 years later, the POTUS would help pass a law where gay marriage is legal in ALL fifty states. I truly believe that not only was it dedicated individuals over MANY years who made this happen, but that QAF was a large part of the long journey to acceptance. As of today, there are 20 countries which recognize same sex marriage simply as marriage. This is miraculous!

I am just so thankful to the creators and writers of this wonderful show, for giving us such a gift.


	6. Star

Happy 15th Anniversary to Queer as Folk - one of the greatest television shows ever created! I may only be a fan, but I feel like the fans are part of the Queer as Folk family. Thank you to the creators and stars of the show: Ron Cowen, Daniel Lipman, Gale Harold, Randy Harrison, Scott Lowell, Peter Paige, Hal Sparks, Robert Gant, Michelle Clunie, Thea Gill and Sharon Gless!


	7. Claudia

I remember becoming obsessed with the show and how it opened my eyes to a whole another world. This show brought me so many good things and for that it will always be in my heart.


	8. Mark

“Never in Our Lifetime” 

Mark’s Story

Fifteen years ago today, December 3, 2000, I was in Baltimore in the midst of a four day conference.

I called home the next day and my partner told me that he had watched the premiere of "that new Queer As Folk series” on Showtime and he was stunned.

We had heard about the UK show and that there would be a US version, but had forgotten about it. He saw the listing in a program guide in our local paper and decided to watch.

He gave me a very brief description of the plot, but said he did not want to tell me everything because we could watch it together when it was repeated the following weekend. 

One thing he did say was "You will never believe what the main character does with this teen-aged gay kid.”

He was right. My jaw dropped when I watched Brian and Justin in the loft.

We both agreed that we thought that never in our lifetime would we have expected to see anything like it on television. Not just the B/J scenes, but EVERYTHING that was said, and done on the show.

We were hooked and watched it every single week the entire 5 years.

Some outspoken gay activists who believed they spoke for all of us in "the community" were appalled. As Dan Cowen recently said, these people thought the show “was not putting the best foot forward in terms of the image of gay people on television or what straight people thought of gay people.” “

Ron and Dan of course lampooned the politically correct crowd in the "Gay As Blazes" story arc , in the characters of Phillip and Tannis the prissy board members of the local Gay and Lesbian Center, author Howard Bellwether, the hypocritical “social conscience of gay Pittsburgh” and the national gay activist group that arrived to help defeat Proposition 14 by presenting Michael and Ben as the ideal couple and banishing from sight the transsexual, drag queens, leather men and other "undesirables" who were Michael's friends from the diner.

Cow/Lip’s final revenge against those people who slammed the show is that QAF has survived these 15 years and has gained a whole new international audience in the 10 years since its initial airing - including young gays and lesbians who are in awe of the fact that the show ever existed.

In addition to its groundbreaking social impact, it resulted in lasting friendships among people who discovered the show and met each other on fan sites and in person.

We were also blessed by the fact that we discovered Gale and Randy when they were unknowns and we have been able to watch their careers progress.

"Never in our lifetime" did we expect to experience such a show. But we did and we are glad of it.


	9. QAF 300~ish Word Story Game ~ 15th Anniversary Edition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the result of a game on our message board called 300 Word story. Normally, the story progresses with each person adding their own word to it ending at 300 posts (for 300 words). We were running out of time and added our own little twist, so this particular story was composed in 138 posts. 
> 
> I'm very pleased with how it turned out. :D

**300~ish Word Story #33 ~ 15th Anniversary Edition ~ When TV changed.**

December is a very special month, celebrated with lots of wonderful memories of Queer As Folk. As we begin to recall memories from our past, we feel like rejoicing with our worldwide friends and family .. and celebrate Claudia's birthday. We love to savor all the stories behind the scenes and share pictures or selfmade gifs. Some of us even write fanfic to continue showing our love for these beautiful characters. This show means so much, to so many.

Daggi joined us a year ago, and we're happy because she's still here! This show has given us many great moments and new friends. Within the last 15 years, so much has changed that nobody believed possible in 2000. Friendships have been established that will never be broken, ever ever ever!

The cast and crew had no idea just how ah~mazing, and how loved, they would still be fifteen years on. Ron and Dan created a masterpiece, based on the original UK version that started it all, by the talented Russell T Davies. Stuart, Vince and Nathan were the role models ~ Brian, Mikey and Justin were their US counterparts.

For 83 episodes, this AH~MAZING show made us cry, laugh and fall in love with all those beautiful characters. Emmett, Ted, Michael .. and their wonderful partners, Drew, Blake and Ben became real family.

The storylines were sometimes as heartbreaking as they were heartwarming and we always were waiting to see where they would go next. Brian and Justin are the most beautiful couple ever seen on TV. And they are still on the list of "The Greatest Love Stories Ever Told" which would be the name of the first reunion episode.

Denise, Debs, Victoria .. were all here the day Deborah became a Moderator. 'Tis a joyous and a very happy day at the QAF board, it was when it united us. How could it be possible, that a show created in 2000, could bring a group of us together 15 years later? Daggi, Claudia, Marta, Victoria, Irina, Star, Debs and our mods Deborah and Denise, not forgetting Chris and Donna ~ who loves Robert ~ and our wonderful, gorgeous Mark who does so much for us in Randy's thread.

Team QaF is a great one. In fact, it's the GREATEST one…ever ever ever! We all love this show and these characters with a passion that would be hard to explain to anyone who has never seen the show.

Not only were the storylines inspiring, but the music choices were brilliant. Happy or sad, wistful, poignant or thumpa thumpa .. the music has the power to put us right back in a scene in an instant. Even for those who couldn't recall a scene exactly, we could call on the power of Debs and she would direct us right to the scene. Together we almost can solve every problem in finding scenes, songs or special pics.

When Russell T. Davies created QaF UK, no~one could have known that CowLip's take on it would still be so loved and so discussed today! The storylines became so much more relevant to the social and political climate at the time and they tried to reflect issues that the community was dealing with, making them so realistic, that some people were uncomfortable.

The incredible journey that we all took with these characters, was so great. And it is something we will continue to treasure.

But when people petitioned for a reunion show in 2014, it became SO clear just how important this show had become to people in so many countries where homosexuality is still unacceptable or illegal … or even punishable by death. Clearly, this show has transcended what we used to think about fictional TV as a whole. This show felt real in every sense of the word, to so many people and to some it became a life saver.

Brian Kinney appeared on our screens and stole our hearts forever, and Justin wasn't the only one who decided he was coming and staying. We fell in love with all of these wonderful characters, no matter how long they were around, and Todd is especially special!

So, it is with great love, that we on QAF Fan Forum celebrate fifteen glorious years of this wonderful show and all its beautiful characters.


End file.
